Kenjiro Takayanagi demonstrated the first fully electronic television receiver in 1926, a feat that would eventually earn him the title of the father of television in his homeland. His pioneering work began in 1924 when he launched a research program on electronic television, a field that was then in its infancy globally. By 1925, he had successfully demonstrated a cathode ray tube television using thermal electron emission, a significant step forward from the mechanical systems that dominated the era. In 1926, Takayanagi achieved a breakthrough by demonstrating a CRT television with 40-line resolution, the first working example of a fully electronic television receiver. This was followed by a 1927 demonstration that increased the resolution to 100 lines, a standard that remained unrivaled until 1931. His 1928 achievement of transmitting human faces in half-tones marked a critical evolution from abstract shapes to recognizable human imagery. Unlike his European contemporaries who relied on mechanical scanning disks, Takayanagi utilized a cathode ray tube to display the received signal, successfully reproducing the Katakana character イ in December 1926. This innovation laid the groundwork for the electronic television systems that would follow, distinguishing his work from the mechanical Nipkow disk systems used by others like John Logie Baird. Takayanagi's research continued to evolve, leading to the development of a fully electronic television system in the 1930s using a revised version of the iconoscope, and eventually a video receiver capable of reproducing images with a resolution of 441 lines at 30 frames per second, the best on the market at the time.
War, Occupation, and the Birth of Broadcasting
Television broadcasting in Japan was introduced in 1939, but the path to regular service was interrupted by the global conflict that engulfed the nation. On the 13th of May 1939, an experimental television signal was broadcast from the STRL antenna at the new Broadcasting Hall in Uchisaiwaichō, representing the first public television experiment conducted through the use of radio waves in Japan. However, the onset of World War II halted all television research, as electrotechnical companies shifted their focus to the production of weapons, ammunition, and other products for war use. The Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, which had maintained a certain independence from the government, became a simple propaganda weapon of the State under the increased military control. Following Japan's surrender in 1945, the occupied government initially banned television research, but this ban was lifted in July 1946. Kenjiro Takayanagi joined the Victor Company of Japan to continue his research independently, while the NHK resumed its efforts in November. The post-war era saw a radical transformation of the broadcasting landscape. In 1950, following a reform of the Japanese broadcasting system, the Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai became an independent company supported by the licence fee paid by listeners, and the market for commercial broadcasting was liberalized. On the 1st of September 1951, the first commercial broadcaster, CBC Radio in Nagoya, started broadcasting, followed shortly after by NJB in Osaka. By 1952, there were eighteen private radio stations in operation, marking the beginning of a new era with the public broadcaster NHK on one side and commercial broadcasters financed by advertising revenue on the other. The first regular television programming began on the 1st of February 1953, when NHK broadcast for approximately seven hours from 2 to 8:45 in the evening. Just months later, on the 28th of August 1953, Nippon Television, the first commercial television, also became operational. The two broadcasters immediately entered into competition, with NHK insisting on culturally elevated programs suitable for the highest social classes, while NTV aimed more decisively at the masses. Initially, the high cost of receivers slowed their diffusion, and by the end of March 1954, there were only 17,000 subscribers compared to more than eleven million radio listeners. To overcome this problem, televisions were installed in city centres, in train stations, and in parks, attracting large numbers of people and helping to spread television culture in the country.
Japan became the third country in the world to introduce color television, following the United States and Cuba, with the first broadcasts beginning on the 10th of September 1960, using the NTSC television standard. The initial color programming focused on foreign films, time-delayed sporting events, and short educational programs, due to the inadequacy of television stations' equipment. The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo served as a catalyst for the rapid popularization of television, with networks relying on the geostationary satellite Syncom 3 for the live television broadcast. The number of black and white televisions sold exceeded 2 million by the end of the 1950s, and the economic well-being after the Second World War, combined with the lowering of television prices, led to television quickly becoming one of the material goods of greatest importance for Japanese families, alongside the refrigerator and the washing machine. By 1967, the number of color television sets sold had grown to 1.28 million, and by 1970, it had surpassed 6.4 million. In November 1975, the number of television sets owned by the general population stood at approximately 46 million, of which 32 million were color televisions. The introduction of color television was not without its challenges; in 1967, only 80,000 to 90,000 households could afford such a set, accounting to less than 1% of the total number of sets at the time. The programming in the 1960s was seen as primitive by US standards, but the rapid adoption of color technology signaled a new era of visual entertainment. The Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai began conducting research to unlock the fundamental mechanism of video and sound interactions with the five human senses in 1964, after the Tokyo Olympics. This research led to the creation of the NHK Color system in 1972, which included 1,125 lines, a 5:3 aspect ratio, and a 60 Hz refresh rate, scoring much higher in subjective tests than NTSC's previously dubbed HDTV. The television industry in Japan also affected the film industry in the 1960s, with film companies reacting by not allowing their top actors and directors to work on television, a decision that eventually led to film companies losing money.
High Definition and the Satellite Age
Japan pioneered high-definition television with an analog implementation known as MUSE/Hi-Vision in the late 1980s, a system that would eventually supersede the older NTSC-J analog television system. Research into high definition had begun in the 1960s when Takashi Fujio, director of the Science & Technology Research Laboratories, believed that television technology had reached sufficient maturity to move from the traditional small screen to the big movie screen. In 1989, NHK began satellite transmissions, simultaneously launching the new high-definition television technology on an experimental basis. The Fujio team agreed that HDTV technology was more easily applicable to direct satellite broadcasts, taking into account how cable TV was poorly developed in Japan compared to the United States. The analog Hi-Vision system featured 1125 lines, 60 frames per second, and an initial aspect ratio of 5:3, later upgraded to 16:9, beaming the first high definition analog broadcasts via satellite through the MUSE compression system. However, it took several years before this technology was adopted globally, mainly due to incompatibility with the standards used in the United States and Europe. The large-scale diffusion of television sets in the 1980s also began to have a certain impact on a social level, contributing to loosening family ties and consequently making family members more independent from each other. This shift affected the television schedule, from which in a few years the generalist programs designed to entertain the whole family disappeared, replaced by specific programs based on age groups, in addition to programs designed for a mature audience in the late evening hours. In 1991, the first subscription satellite television network, WOWOW, was born, specialized in broadcasting films, shows, and sports. Facing increased competition from satellite networks, the government announced in 1995 a ban on new commercial terrestrial television licenses from May 1996. The market was on the verge of deregulation in 1996, which enabled the entrance of foreign conglomerates, especially in the pay-TV sector. Only Nippon TV and TBS were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with Fuji TV and TV Asahi considering joining.
The Digital Switchover and Internet Convergence
The transition from analog to digital television in Japan was a complex process that began in the 2000s, with the development of the ISDB-T standard for digital terrestrial television. The first transmission tests using this new generation standard began in 2003 in the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. In 2006, the 1seg function was launched, a very popular service that allowed users to watch TV on their mobile phones via digital terrestrial. The transition to digital television took place from 2010 to 2011 through the digital switchover, the phased switching off on a regional basis of analog television. The transition concluded in most of the country on the 24th of July 2011, except for the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, on whose switchoff was postponed to the following year due to the Tōhoku earthquake. However, the transition was not without problems: the 333m Tokyo Tower was in fact insufficient to adequately cover the Kantō area with the digital terrestrial signal. For this reason, another 634m high tower was built, the Tokyo Skytree, inaugurated in 2012 in the Sumida ward. The total digitalization of television in Japan radically changed the traditional radio broadcasting model, leading the main private broadcasters, satellite platforms, and telecommunications companies to offer their programs via paid services on the internet. Already in 2008, NHK inaugurated its subscription service NHK On Demand for the online viewing of programs that were previously shown on terrestrial television. In January 2014, Nippon TV launched a free service that allowed viewers to watch programs online up to a week after the original air date. TBS then followed with the launch of a similar service in October 2014. In 2015, to counter the entry of Netflix and Amazon Video into the Japanese market, the main commercial networks based in Tokyo struck a deal by jointly launching the free TVer website. The large-scale diffusion of the Internet has led to the formation of a generation gap in which older people spend more time in front of a television compared to younger people, who spend more time online rather than with any other type of media. Especially among teenagers, video sharing or video on demand services such as Niconico, Yahoo! Douga, and GyaO have become dominant.
The License Fee and Public Service Model
All Japanese households having at least one television set, or any device that is capable of receiving live television broadcasts, are mandated to hold a television license, with funds primarily used to subsidize NHK, the Japanese public service broadcaster. The fee varies from ¥12,276 to ¥21,765, reduced to ¥10,778 to ¥20,267 for households residing in Okinawa Prefecture, depending on the method and timing of payment, and on whether one receives only terrestrial television or also satellite broadcasts. Households on welfare may be excused from the license fee. Notably, there is no legal authority to impose sanctions or fines in the event of non-payment; people may, and many do, throw away the bills and turn away the occasional bill collector, without consequence. This unique system has created a distinct relationship between the broadcaster and the public, where the financial support is voluntary in practice despite being mandatory in law. The license fee has been a cornerstone of NHK's operations, allowing it to maintain a level of independence from commercial advertising pressures that characterizes many public broadcasters around the world. The revenue generated from the license fee has enabled NHK to invest in cutting-edge technology, such as the development of the MUSE/Hi-Vision system and the transition to digital broadcasting. The fee structure also reflects the diverse needs of Japanese households, with different rates for terrestrial and satellite broadcasts, and special provisions for those in Okinawa Prefecture. The absence of legal sanctions for non-payment has led to a culture of non-compliance that is unique to Japan, where the social expectation of paying the fee is often outweighed by the practical reality of non-enforcement. This system has allowed NHK to maintain its status as a public service broadcaster, providing educational and cultural programming that might not be viable in a purely commercial market.
Programming Culture and the Golden Hour
Television programs in Japan vary from station to station, but some generalizations can be made regarding the structure and content of broadcasting schedules. Most commercial television stations sign on between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. every morning, with early morning hours dominated by news programs that run from around 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. These are then replaced by late morning shows that target wives who have finished their housework, running to around 1:30 p.m., at which time reruns of dramas and information programs that target the same age group start. On some stations at 4:00 p.m., the young kid-oriented anime and TV shows start, and end around 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. Evening news programs air as early as before 4:00 p.m. or before 5:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m., when the Golden Hour of TV shows start. The period from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. is when TV stations pour the most resources, and appearing in this time slot is a certain sign that an actor or actress is a TV star. After 9:00 p.m., they switch over to Japanese television dramas and programs focusing on older age groups, which run until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Stations run their late night news mostly at the 11:00 p.m. hour, and around midnight sports news programs run which target working ages. After these, programs for mature audiences run as well as anime that do not expect enough viewers if they were run earlier. Some commercial stations sign off between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. every night, although most stations affiliated with NNS or JNN broadcast 24 hours a day, with the sign off window replaced by a simulcast of their networks' news channel during the overnight hours. NHK is required to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Advertisers sponsor programs rather than buying advertising time during commercial breaks, and the advertisers have major power over prime time programs, aiming to the lowest common denominator by having familiar, tested celebrities hosting the programs, regardless of genre. None of the foreign programs air on terrestrial television during prime time, even rare outside the prime time hours, as locally produced programs dominate the slot, favored by the public. The broadcasters have control over production companies, hence production companies often work with a single TV station and the TV station itself owns the copyright to the completed program.
Anime, Drama, and the Cultural Landscape
Anime, taken from half of the Japanese pronunciation of animation, is the Japanese word for animation in general, but is used more specifically to mean Japanese animation in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917, and TV networks regularly broadcast anime programming. Major national TV networks, such as TV Tokyo, broadcast anime regularly, while smaller regional stations broadcast anime on UHF. Doraemon, Case Closed, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Fairy Tail, Bleach, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online, Gundam, Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure, Love Live!, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Solo Leveling, Spy × Family, Black Clover, Naruto, Dragon Ball, and One Piece are examples of anime. While many popular series air during the daytime and evening hours, most air only at night from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. These series usually make profits primarily through Blu-ray Disc and DVD sales and merchandising rather than through television advertising. Some anime series are original, but most are intended to promote something else, such as an ongoing manga, light novel, or video game series which they are usually based on. Drama series are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily, with all major TV networks producing a variety of drama series including romance, comedies, detective stories, horror, and many others. With a theme, there may be a one-episode drama, or two nights, that may be aired on special occasions, such as in 2007 where they had a drama produced as a sixty-year anniversary from the end of the World War II, with a theme of the atomic bomb. Japanese television series and dramas are sometimes subdivided into kūru, from the French term cours for course, which is a three-month period usually of 13 episodes. Each kūru generally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold. A six-month period of 26 episodes is also used for subdivision in some television series. Japanese variety shows, also known as Japanese game shows, are television entertainment made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts. Japanese television programs such as Music Station and Utaban continue in an almost pristine format from the same variety shows of years before, with the only major changes being the increasing disappearance of live backup music since the 1980s.